The Skilled Craftsmen

31 ^(A)Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² “See, I have called by name Bezalel, the ^(B)son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. ³ I have ^(C)filled him with the Spirit of God in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all kinds of ^[a]craftsmanship, ⁴ to ^[b]make artistic designs for work in gold, in silver, and in ^[c]bronze, ⁵ and in the cutting of stones ^[d]for settings, and in the carving of wood, that he may work in all kinds of ^[e]craftsmanship. ⁶ And behold, I Myself have ^[f]appointed with him ^(D)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are ^[g]skillful I have put ^[h]skill, that they may make all that I have commanded you: ^7 (E)the tent of meeting, and ^(F)the ark of testimony, and ^(G)the ^[i]mercy seat upon it, and all the furniture of the tent, ^8 (H)the table also and its ^[j]utensils, and the ^(I)pure gold lampstand with all its ^[k]utensils, and ^(J)the altar of incense, ^9 (K)the altar of burnt offering also with all its ^[l]utensils, and ^(L)the laver and its stand, ¹⁰ the ^[m](M)woven garments as well, and the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, with which to ^[n]carry on their priesthood; ^11 (N)the anointing oil also, and the ^(O)fragrant incense for the holy place, they are to make them according to all that I have commanded you.”

The Sign of the Sabbath

¹² The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹³ “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘^(P)You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is ^(Q)a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ¹⁴ Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. ^(R)Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. ^15 (S)For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a ^(T)sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Lord; ^(U)whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. ¹⁶ So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to ^[o]celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.’ ^17 (V)It is a sign between Me and the sons of Israel forever; ^(W)for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from labor, and was refreshed.”

¹⁸ When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses ^(X)the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, ^(Y)written by the finger of God.

God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.

For the choir director; ^[a]according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

Concerning Divorce

19 ^(A)When Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and ^(B)came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; ² and ^[a]large crowds followed Him, and ^(C)He healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to ^[b]Jesus, testing Him and asking, “^(D)Is it lawful for a man to ^[c]divorce his wife for any reason at all?” ⁴ And He answered and said, “Have you not read ^(E)that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘^(F)For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^(G)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” ⁷ They *said to Him, “^(H)Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” ⁸ He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to ^[d]divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. ⁹ And I say to you, ^(I)whoever ^[e]divorces his wife, except for ^[f]immorality, and marries another woman ^[g]commits adultery^[h].”

¹⁰ The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” ¹¹ But He said to them, “^(J)Not all men can accept this statement, but ^(K)only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

^13 (L)Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. ¹⁴ But Jesus said, “^[i](M)Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for ^(N)the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” ¹⁵ After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.